895.01/148
The Ambassador in China ( Gauss ) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 23.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my despatch no. 335 of March 25, 1942 on the subject of “The Korean Independence Movement and its Desire for Formal Recognition”, and to transmit for the information of the Department copies34 of:
- 1.
- News report (Central News, Chungking, May 20) that “the National Military Council (of the Chinese Government) has ordered the incorporation of the Korean Volunteer Corps into the Korean Independence Army”.
- 2.
- News item (United Press, Washington, May 29) containing statement by Kilsoo Haan that Korean Volunteer Corps number 15,000 men and that new combined force will exceed 35,000.
- 3.
- Memorandum of conversation with Dr. Yang Yun-chu, Director of the Eastern Asiatic Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, [Page 878] on the general subject of Korean affairs and the consolidation of the Korean Military units.
Dr. Yang’s statements to a member of my staff are of some interest. They reveal: that the consolidation of the military units of the Korean National Revolutionary Party (the Korean Volunteer Corps) and the “Provisional Government of Korea” (the Korean Independence Army), which the Chinese regard as the first step in the actual bringing together of the two parties, is not proceeding smoothly because of the continuing frictions and rivalries of the groups concerned; that the size of the units involved (despite fanciful statements such as those by Kilsoo Haan quoted in Enclosure no. 2) are in fact insignificant; and that no effective use is at present being made of them for propaganda or military purposes.
Dr. Yang showed a keen interest in, and requested information concerning, the Korean movement in the United States.
Respectfully yours,
- None printed.↩